[Shaun Gordon]

Good Afternoon All,

New to the forum and so happy to have found this community. I have had many watches through the years, but as I get old I have moved away from having uber expensive trendy brand names and decided that for me quality, uniqueness, and functionality are the most important things. I have divested B&M, B&R, and a few other recognizable names.

I found the Hamilton BelowZero H785550 out of the blue, sold all of my other watches, and this has become my favorite automatic time piece I’ve owned to date. Simple, but sylish, solidly built and somewhat timeless (pardon the pun).

I am having a small problem with the watch and I was hoping that someone would be able to shed some light on this. I bought the watch from ashford . com where they assure their watches are direct from the manufacturer and 100% authentic. When I look at the watch face in the image attached, between the SWISS__6__MADE there are 3 numerals:333. I looked at the watch on the Hamilton web site and there are no numerals between the SWISS ___ MADE. I called Hamilton directly, but because I was not aware that ashford was not an authorized dealer, Hamilton refused to answer any of my questions. Ashford claimed they were an authorized dealer and because neither companies will speak with me on the phone, I cannot get any further information.

Can anyone provide feedback on whether the watch is indeed authentic, and what the 333 stands for?

I would greatly appreciate some assistance.

Regards,
Shaun

 

[CometHunter]

Hi Shaun, and welcome!
This is a puzzler fer sure. I'd say turn your watch over and study the movement closely. Then Google an image of Hamilton's ETA 2826 movement. The larger the better. If all the details on both look the same, I wouldn't worry about it. True: the one on Hamilton's site doesn't have that 333....BUT...

If you google images of the actual watch about 50% have it! And most of the images are from reputable dealers. I also noticed some dials are marked 3330FT/1000M. So perhaps it has something to do with the watch's water resistance, or one of the simple design changes they make now and then for whatever reason.
At any rate, counterfeiters are known for getting the basics but messing up on the fine details, like stamped impressions instead of quality engraving. Or letters and numbers that aren't quite razor-sharp and evenly spaced. If it passes scrutiny, it's probably OK.